Vibratory motor for therapeutic device



G. M. NEFF 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 22, 1963 VIBRATORY MOTOR FOR THERAPEUTIC DEVICE Filed July 31, 1958 w a" I Z. 434% Jan. 22, 1963 G. M. NEFF 3,075,101

VIBRATORY MOTOR FOR THERAPEUTIC DEVICE Filed July 31, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Ofiiice VIBRATORY MOTOR FOR THERAPEUTIC DEVICE Gene M. Nefi, Racine, Wis., assignor to John Oster Manufactoring Co., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsi Filed July 31, 1958, Ser. No. 752,275

Claim. (Cl. 310-29) nvention relates to vibratory therapeutic cushions as its purpose to provide an improved device of which is capable of being sold at a relatively eifective and achieves cer- This i and has this type One of the more specific objects of this invention is to the character described wherein the In vibrator units of the character just described the space between the core and the armature is critical and must be carefully adjusted during assembly of the device.

particularly defined by the appended claim, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereiudisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claim.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention, constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a vibratory therapeutic cushion made in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view through the cushion;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the motor unit with part of its cover section broken away;

FIGURE 4 is a detail sectional view through FIGURE 3 on the plane of the line 44; and

FIGURE 5 is a disassembled perspective view of the motor unit with a portion of one housing member shown broken away.

Referring now particularly to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 3 designates the body of the vibratory therapeutic cushion of this invention. It is formed of 3,075,101 Patented Jan. 22, 1963 soft, pliable resilient material and has a motor unit 4 embedded therein.

by a zipper fastener 6.

he motor unit 4 comprises a motor 7 and a housing 8 n which the motor is mounted in such a way that the Specifically, the motor 7 comprises a field coil or sole noid 1i wound on a spool 12 which is fitted onto the middle leg 13 of an E-shaped laminated magnet core or frame 14. The core and solenoid cooperate with a U-shaped armature 16 formed of magnetically permeable substantially rigid metal.

The housing in which the motor is enclosed and by respectively, formed in the plate, the flanges 26' and 27' at the peripheries of the holes providing the stiffening.

The bowl-shaped upper housing member 19 has a frustoconical side wall 23, a fiat end wall 29 and a peripheral lower dished step 23 in the bottom plate and the end Wall 29 of the top housing member comprise a pair of opposing, spaced apart substantially rigid walls.

The U-shaped armature 16 is afiixed, as by means of rivets 33 through its bight portion, to the top wall of the housing, extending diametrically thereacross with its legs 34 projecting downwardly; and consequently the ar mature is constrained against any motion relative to the housing.

The E-shaped core 14 is mounted for motion toward and from the armature by means of a resilient strap 36 which spans the interior of the housing, substantially parallel to the armature. The ends of the strap are clampingly secured between the fiange 30 on the bowlshaped upper housing member and the upper surface of the bottom plate, and may be held in place by two of the screws and nuts 31 and 32 that secure the two housing members together. The core is secured to the medial to which the core is secured, the strap has a relatively These loops permit the medial portion of the strap to flex up and down relative to its anchored end portions, and thus provide for movement of the core toward and from the armature. The medial-portion of; thestrap is normally held spaced a substantial distance from the dished central portion 23 o fthe bottom plate, and it holds the core with the ends ofits legsspaced from the'legs of the armature, so as to permit the core' to move freely up and down in response to electro-magnetic attraction between it and the armaturn Spacing of the medial portion of the strapfrom' the bottom plate is of course provided for by the conca vely dished central portion 23 of the bottom plate, and

in addition the bottom plate is bumped upwardly, as at" 42, at the points where the screws which secure the strap pass through it.

One of the most important features of this invention results from the fact that the core 14 of the vibrator motor has substantial mass, at least ascompared to that of the armature 16, and by further reason of the fact that the core is mounted on a medial portion of the resilient strap 36, in spaced relation to the housing walls. The core is thus movable relative to the housing, being substantially suspended therein by means of the resilient strap 36, so thatiits vibration cannot be damped by the weight of a person pressing down upon the housing'during: use of the device. In fact, the core will continue to vibrate at a frequency determined by the pulsating currentsuplied to the solenoid 11' during use, of the device even though the full weight of' a person is imposed upon the housingwhereas" in many prior devices of this type it was possible to nearly stop the motor from vibrating by-torce applied to the housing thereof.

In assembling the vibrator motor of this invention, the strap, with the core secured to it, has its ends clamped to the flange 30 on the bowl-shaped upper housing member before the member. This clamping may be temporary, as by means ofa suitable fixture which will be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art, or it maybe permanent, as by means of riveting or spot welding. In any case, the pre liminary securement of the strap to the bowl-shaped housing member permits the medial portion of the strap to' be readily'and accurately adjusted so that the outer legs' a selenium type rectifier 44'is provided. This unit is conveniently mounted upon the bottom plate 18 by being riveted thereto.

bottom plate is secured to the upper housing The supply cord 9' and, more particularly, the three leads 9' thereof which extend from the control switch to the motor and the rectifier," enter the motor housing through an access opening 45 formed in an indentation as in the upper housing member, and, although the leads 9' are not completely illustrated in FIGURE 3, it is understood that they are connectedwith the coil terminals and the rectifier in a well known manner.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will be apparent that this invention provides a vibratory therapeutic cushion, and 'more particularly a cushions and similar articles, which possesses many advantages and constitutes a substantial improvement over prior devices of this type, particularly in that the vibrator motor is constructed-of simple and inexpensive is easy to assemble, and in that it may be very readily and accurately'adjusted during the assembly operation.

What is claimed as'my invention is:

A therapeutic vibrator unit housing,

wound on a core in the housingan d adapted'to be energized with pulsating current to eiiect relative vibratory motion of the core, and armature towardand'from'one another, said vibrator unit being characterized byth'e: includes'a rigid substantially bowl shaped member mounted for -bodily substantiallyaxial vibratory motion; the armature is stationarily secured to" the bottom of the bowl-shaped member, at the interiorjfact that: the housing thereof; and the core has substantial mass and is supported on the medial portion of anelongated strip oi'resilient material, he ends of which are anchored to the rimof the'bowl-sha'ped member and which extends across the bowl-shaped member and has arcuately'curved loop portions between each end thereof and its medial portion whereby its medial portion is held in a position'in which the core is normally spaced from the housing walls and movableirelative to the housing at all times toward and from the armature in response to the armature, butls apulsating current impressed upon the solenoid.

References Cited in the file of this patent- UNITED sTArEsPATnNrs 1,315,612, St-ockinger" Sept. 9, 1919f 2,526,413 Ra'wlins Oct. 17, 2,740,958 Dyer Ap'r.'3, 1950 2,240,071 Me Nair June 24, 1958, 2,920,618 Oster Jan. 12, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS v 451,204 Italy Sept 1, 1949 151,408 Australia ..May 13, 1953* vibrator motor for therapeutic parts and of the type comprising a an armature. in the housing, 1 and a solenoid 

